Anchor Baby

This movie annoyed me so much. The premise was great and interesting, but the plot just crawled on and on, to no end, and the acting was annoying especially from certain characters/scenes. Susan and John (Susan's lawyer friend) were particularly odd in their acting, like they don't know how "real" people behave.

Except Joyce Unanga, the main character. She did pretty good.

It's disappointing because I would have loved to get a movie on this topic (undocumented immigrants shown in a sympathetic light) where I could be really invested in the characters.

The ending was unexpected for me, so that was good, but it didn't feel necessary, like the twist didn't really do anything for the movie overall. If it had, I would have bumped it up to a 5/10 but no.

Also the whole movie felt like it was made in the early 2000s, from the camera quality, to the awkward cuts between some scenes, to the weird dialogue.

A married Nigerian couple, Joyce and Paul Unanga, living illegally in the United States, has been ordered to leave the country by the U. S. immigration. They decide that they will leave, but only after Joyce, who is five months pregnant, delivers her baby in the United States to guarantee automatic U. S. citizenship for their child. Thus, ignoring the deportation order, the couple goes into hiding. When Paul is caught and deported, leaving Joyce to fend for herself, she struggles on her own to survive. Bureaucracy keeps getting in the way of Joyce achieving her goal and just as she is about to give up hope, she meets Susan, a married freelance writer who offers to help in the form of safe, free accommodation until the baby is born. With the help of her newfound friend, Joyce sets out to make the 'American Dream' come true for her unborn child.

This movie is an amazing independent film. I watched it in UK Odeon cinemas when I was there on vacation in September. Acting was great and the story is amazing with a mind blowing twist at the end. This type of movie opens your eyes to whats going on in our society and the immigration system. The movie started off with showing the two main actors in the movie. One of them is Sam Sarpong. I've seen him in several films in the states but never in a role like this ever. He even had a different accent from his normal way of speaking. The person who stole the whole show is the lead actress Omoni Oboli. She is not a big named actor. I believe she is a Nigerian based actor in Nollywood. She did justice to the role and was very believable. Terry Oliver who played Susan Backley was also exceptional in her role. This is a movie you will have to watch twice to figure out how the writer/director Lonzo Nzekwe pulled off such a great story. I'm looking forward to seeing more work from this promising filmmaker. I' have to admit I'm not a big fan of indie movies, but I'm glad I gave it a chance and watched it. It's a recommended "must watch" for everyone.

The movie got me confused at first because i thought there was no plot and was leading nowhere but then towards the end the plot got revealed and got really interesting.

The story involves a couple (Paul & Joyce) who are illegal immigrants in the United states hoping for a better life. They got caught by the US immigration service and were ordered to be deported. Joyce realizes she's pregnant and the couple decided to stay at least until the baby is born to secure a US citizenship for the child. Paul got caught and was immediately deported leaving his pregnant wife behind. Joyce avoiding the immigration officers struggles on her own and looks for a place to stay, she meets Susan who offers to help and take her in, Joyce accepts the offer not realizing Susan's hidden motives while facing numerous challenges.

Its one of those movies with a last minute twist, great movie.

I just watched this film on an overseas flight and was shocked by many obvious errors. First, the woman is extremely large at 4 months pregnant (the size a woman is just before labor) and never changes size the entire film. Secondly, the film is supposed to be based in Chicago and it doesn't even attempt to look like that city at all. The nice interior of the illegal immigrant's home is also not realistic at all for the United States - it looks like a suburban home, yet is supposed to be an urban housing block? Lastly, and most importantly, the values portrayed as heroic are an unjust abuse of the US immigration system. The concept of "anchor baby" has already been eradicated in the UK and other first world countries because it is an unfair way for someone to forcefully gain citizenship while others are patiently waiting in line. Overall, I'm disappointed that film festivals gave this film such good ratings. Whatever your political views, this is a poor film with blatant errors.